The IDIA project seeks to find ways to reach out to students from economically poor or underprivileged regions of India, sensitize them to law as a career option and help those interested to acquire admission to the top National Law Universities.

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Saturday, December 4, 2010

We, Neha .M.Kurian and Sachin Sathyarajan, conducted presentations on law as a career option and also about the immense opportunities in store for them at the National Law Schools. Every year a good number of students from the St. Thomas family make it to the National Law Schools. However the level of awareness about the career option is considerably low among the student community especially among science students.

We were very excited to be back at our alma mater and speak in front of our teachers and juniors. The Principals, Career Counsellor and Faculty of both schools were very appreciative of our initiative and gave unconditional support for our endeavour.

During the interaction it was evident that almost 90 % of the students still believed that they wouldn’t be on their own feet with a good paying job after earning the degree. The students were unanimous in the opinion that the profession was a very stagnant and corrupt one. Only few knew that compulsory apprenticeship under a senior lawyer and evening classes were a thing of past.

We highlighted that students from science background can fare equally well and are at no disadvantage in contrast to public perception. We further told them that students with aptitude in this field should definitely give it a shot asMany students were inspired by the example of ShamnadBasheer himself who shared the same schooling and now has made such an impact at a young age. We specifically mentioned all the national law schools in India and also that the rankings published by certain magazines were flawed and not to be trusted. As expected, the varied exposure in form of internships, moot courts , debates and seminars which they would not find in other disciplines got them very excited.

The attractive salary packages did not easily sink in and many doubted whether we were bluffing. Several civil services aspirants came forward and asked about specific benefits to them.The sheer diversity of opportunities after the law course made many engineering aspirants give it a second thought as they wanted a more socially conscious field.

Several students expressed concern over the time aspect of preparing for CLAT as many were already attending other entrance coaching. Many expressed concern over the level of General Knowledge and Math questions for CLAT. We interacted with more than 350 kids and even though only a handful of them had started out with a decision to appear for CLAT, a huge number of them from all groups expressed genuine interest in CLAT and in Law at the end of the seminar. All in all it was a very positive interaction for both the students and for us and we saw a lot of hope for the field in the St. Thomas Schools. Viva St. Thomas!!!!